Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does.

My favorite thing about Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is how we get to see that wizards and Muggles are much the same. Mr. Weasley actually thinks that Muggles are fasinating and even “magical” in their own way. It’s a nice little theme that I only picked up since it was my third time reading it. It’s a subtle contrast to the “Muggle-born” hate the goes along with the opening of the Chamber of Secrets.

And enter Lockhart – the fun, semi-villain. He’s fun to make fun of and laugh at but I think he represents a villan that we are more likely to encounter in real life or even become ourselves if we’re not careful. He’s selfish, vain and will do anything to get ahead including hurting others.

Honestly, this book gave me chills when I first read it. I was not expecting what I considered to be a “kids” book to be scary. I had to finish it in one night so I could sleep. If I didn’t find out how Harry got rid of the voices talking about blood and killing, my subconscious would have no way to fight back in my nightmares. I have nightmares about everything.

The magical world J.K. Rowling has built is so fantastic and unbelievably real that it makes me ask questions like, “Why is Peeves physical when ghosts are not and why is he afraid of the Bloody Baron?” And I seriously want an answer. There is no level of detail that is too much in my mind. I must know all the things about Hogwarts. And oh how I love Professor Binns. He’s the ultimate old and boring teacher (another thing that Muggles sadly have, too).

I really can’t get over how very relatable this book is to kids. It deals with the big and small struggles that kids go through every day. It shows how the characters deal with unfairness and how tedious and boring school can be. And Harry really acts like a kid – he doesn’t tell Dumbledore important things in the fashion of any kid who is afraid. Who as a kid didn’t tell their parents something even though they knew they should?

After reading it for the third time, it’s fun to pick up on the foreshadowing that I missed. I’m noticing that Ms. Rowling often disguises important things as jokes or just another detail to make the world more interesting and colorful. Ooh I just get chills when they figure out who Moaning Myrtle is. See? She’s important although at first she appeared to just be a colorful character to annoy them in the bathroom.

I can’t end this review without the best quote of the book:

It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

– J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (p. 333)

Content Rating: Mild, for talk of killing and blood, some scary scenes, and some mild swearing.

About J. K. Rowling

J K (Joanne Kathleen) Rowling was born in the summer of 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England and grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive. Jo left Chepstow for Exeter University, where she earned a French and Classics degree, and where her course included one year in Paris. When her marriage ended, she returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where "Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone" was eventually completed and in 1996 she received an offer of publication. The following summer the world was introduced to Harry Potter.

I agree with you. I love picking up the foreshadowing whenever I reread Harry Potter. JK Rowling is a genius with foreshadowing. Did you notice that a certain opal necklace was mentioned in Borgins & Burkes?

I wondered if it was the same necklace :) And isn’t Harry hiding in the vanishing cabinet in the store? And my favorite was when they are cleaning out the Black residence and come across a locket that won’t open…and then they throw it out!

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My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever. Read more….